You Can Lead A Cat To Water...

You Can Lead A Cat To Water...
5000+ words
Luhan wants to take Kai swimming. (suggested by eine08)

“I know you are smart, Luhan. In fact, I know you are incredibly smart. I will take into account the fact that you probably never had a pet growing up. I will also take into account that I’m the first hybrid you met. But, it can’t have actually escaped your knowledge that cats and water don’t really go together?”

“You take showers,” Luhan replies dryly. His hands are crossed over his chest and he’s looking at Kai as though no excuses are going to get him out of this request.

“For cleanliness purposes,” Kai retorts.

“If you’re going to hold by the whole ‘cat’ thing then you should prefer to yourself clean instead of take showers,” Luhan says in complete seriousness.

Kai scowls. “And walk around all day covered in saliva? I think not.”

“Yeah,” Luhan agrees thoughtfully. “You don’t like to stay like that long after I at you either.”

Kai’s jaw drops. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You don’t hate water,” Luhan retorts with finality.

Kai raises an eyebrow at just how presumptuous Luhan is being.

“You take showers and you don’t seem to care about the rain, so I fail to see where this cats-and-water-don’t-mix thing is coming from,” Luhan continues.

“I don’t swim.”

Luhan waves away Kai’s response. “It doesn’t mean you couldn’t. It doesn’t mean you wouldn’t find enjoyment in it.”

“I don’t swim,” the younger tries again.

“Well, I like to swim and I miss it a great deal. You should come with me and then I can teach you,” Luhan beams.

“I don’t want to.”

“You’re being really stubborn.”

Kai crosses his arms at his chest and glares at his boyfriend. “You should respect that this isn’t something I want to do.”

“I do respect you, but I think you’re just using the unknown as a reason to not try something. Have you had a bad incident with water? Something traumatizing?”

“No.”

“Okay then! Let’s go to the pool!”

Kai shakes his head, profusely.

“I’ll buy you floaties,” Luhan offers with a toothy grin.

“What are floaties?”

“Little blow up things for your arms to keep you afloat in deep water. Or we can get you one of those blow up tubes or a life vest.”

“Aren’t those for babies?”

“The floaties? Well, and cats that can’t swim,” Luhan teases.

Kai huffs and glares at his boyfriend. “Why don’t you just go swimming by yourself?”

It’s Luhan’s turn to pout. He walks up to Kai and pulls at the other’s crossed arms playfully. “Okay, no floaties. Please come with me? Even if you only sit on one of the chairs to the side, I’d still like you to be there. The weekend is the only chance I have to spend time doing this, but I also want to spend time with you.”

“It just doesn’t sound like fun.”

“Please? If you want, you can pick something for tomorrow or next weekend and I’ll go along with it completely!” Luhan tries his best to look a bit doe-eyed and hard to resist. He almost can’t hold back his smile when Kai’s arms fall to his side and he stares at Luhan in disgusted defeat.

“I’m not getting in the pool,” Kai states. He’ll give in to Luhan as far as the outing, but that doesn’t mean he’s participating.

“Fine by me! As long as you come with me, that’s all I need.” Luhan surprises Kai by leaning forward and kissing the younger on the cheek before heading towards their bedroom to get what he needs for the pool. He expects Kai to follow, but when he doesn't Luhan turns back around. “Come on, you need to change.”

“Into what?” Kai asks with a raised eyebrow.

Luhan huffs in annoyance. “You can't go to the pool in jeans. That's ridiculous. Don't you have a pair of shorts?”

“No.”

“Not one pair?!”

“No, Luhan, I use pants to hide my tail. What good will shorts do me?” the younger replies in a tone suggesting how dumb it is for his boyfriend to ask.

Luhan looks Kai up and down with a scowl. “Alright then, we're going shopping first.”

“What for?”

“You need shorts.”

“Why does it matter? I'll only be sitting around.”

“Not if we use the sauna! We’ll just go really quickly. I'm sure it won't take long,” Luhan reassures.

Kai rolls his eyes as the older vanishes into their room to get his things. Truth is, Kai only agreed to go so that he's not stuck at home twiddling his thumbs for the other to get back. Bored at home or bored at the pool is irrelevant. He wants to be around Luhan too.

“I'm not coming out!” Kai yells.

“Kai, you're making this into something ridiculous. Come on. No one will care. Just come out.”

“No. I'm changing. I'll come out in a few minutes.”

“Oh no you're not,” Luhan warns. He walks up to the stall door leaning closer to it. “I want to see. You insisted that I let you try them on first, so you should at least show me.”

Kai has locked himself in the department store changing room with Luhan impatiently waiting on the other side of the door. Luhan has already warned him that he would have to do at the swim center without his trademark cover. He is currently staring at himself in the mirror while wearing a colorful pair of shorts along with the shirt he had worn to the store. He can't wrap his tail around his leg because the fabric of the shorts are too thin and it looks only a little less embarrassing than having his tail out for the world to see, but Kai hates doing that.

Kai might as well walk into the swim center for all this current ensemble is doing for him. He wants to do what his boyfriend is requesting of him, but he's simply not comfortable.

Kai is torn from his mental anguish as Luhan taps on the changing stall door once again.

“Kai? I'm sure it's not that bad.”

Kai doesn't know what to do anymore. He simply can't make Luhan happy when he is this uncomfortable. Sometimes he just wishes Luhan would stop pushing him. He knows that Luhan never means anything bad by it, but sometimes he just wants to keep to himself.

“It is that bad. I can't wear this. I'll be out in a moment.”

“Kai,” Luhan whines. He knocks on the door two more times even though he knows better than to expect Kai to open the door. “Can you at least tell me what’s wrong with them?”

Luhan is more than surprised by the door squeaking open to allow him to peek inside. Luhan is confused; Kai looks fine. He takes a few breaths and looks the other from head to toe. Kai looks more than fine and seeing his legs bared has Luhan needing to take slightly deeper breaths. That is, until he notices that Kai’s ears are drooping and he’s not looking at him.

“You look fine. Hey, they are just clothes…” Luhan tries with a shrug.

Kai’s gaze snaps up and his eyes turn gray in half transition as he looks at Luhan. “They aren’t just clothes. They aren’t made for me. Don’t you get it? If I can’t hide my tail within them, I have to wear them low enough to let my tail out and I can’t do that. It looks ridiculous. It’s not like they make shorts for hybrids specifically. How can they? Some of us don’t have tails. Some of us have thin tails and others have thick fluffy ones. We have to make due with our defects and the clothing that’s available.”

“You do not have any defects.”

Kai waves off Luhan’s argument. “I don’t care about how I look around the house. That’s why I let my tail out. Or sometimes with a longer shirt or a hoodie or something it’s not so bad, but I can’t wear these in public without it being noticeable or awkward.”

Luhan understands what Kai is saying. He gets that there’s a literal malfunction in the way clothing fits him. Pants are made to wear certain ways and most of the time that doesn’t allow for actual tails. Not to mention that it will probably always be some type of beanie that will cover Kai’s ears and the area around the trim of his hair where human ears would be present. Luhan has been so driven that Kai be confident with his differences that he forgets it is not just about Kai feeling comfortable in front of people but that no one really builds that confidence without a little allowance from the world around them.

“Maybe we can find some shorts that are a bit longer. You could still hide your tail, if that’s what you want.”

“I really doubt there’s anything that will work.”

“We’ve only tried one style. If I don’t find anything then we’ll go without buying anything new, okay?”

Luhan can’t stand the way that Kai looks so defeated over something as simple as a pair of shorts. He pulls open the door a little bit more so he can fit himself through the opening.

He pushes the door closed behind him, surprising Kai enough for the younger to take a step back and accommodate the elder’s intrusion.

“What are you doing?” Kai asks.

Luhan reaches his hands out to place them against Kai’s hips. He pulls the other towards him until they are a whisper apart. Luhan looks at Kai, allowing a small smile to form at how cute the other is even when slightly distraught. “I can’t help myself,” Luhan whispers.

Kai’s ears twitch and he looks at the older in confusion. Here? Now? There is no way that Luhan is about to do anything in this stall, Kai thinks. Blood is rushing through his veins and he feels a sensation throughout his body. It's in his chest with how fast his heart is racing. There's a small tingling sensation in his bottom lip that is apparently in need of biting. He feels it in his crotch, too - but he’s definitely going to ignore that for now.

“Have I ever told you how y your legs are? They’re so long and thin and yet muscular. You have so much strength there and yet you are naturally graceful in the way that you move.”

Kai is taken by surprise from the random compliment. He moves his tongue around his mouth to ease the sudden dryness. Kai takes to biting at his lips because, well, he can’t think of anything better to do. Luhan’s hands at his hips feed him warmth while his words make Kai feel slightly light headed. Realizing how he’s turning into absolute putty, Kai shakes his head and frowns at Luhan. “Stop distracting me!”

“I’m not lying,” Luhan steps back with a smile. “Let me go see what other options there are. Wait here. I’ll be back.”

Kai frowns at the idea of trying on something else he is going to hate.

“Oh stop sulking!” Luhan pulls Kai even closer and plants a quick kiss against the hybrid’s lips. He takes to playfully biting Kai’s plump lower lip before releasing him and escaping from the small changing stall.

Kai thinks Luhan can probably kiss his way through any argument.

Kai doesn’t know how he’s lived in the city for as long as he has and has yet to pay attention to the building he is currently standing in front of. It is wide and mostly made of concrete, but the roof is made of fractal glass that looks amazing and definitely worth noticing. The aquatic center boasts an almost modern exterior design, even though Kai is sure it has been around for a while. The glass roof still protects against the elements while allowing for the interior to bask in natural lighting. Kai is sure the interior must be even more interesting to look at than the exterior.

Still, it’s an aquatic center and that’s never been on Kai’s to-do list of places to visit.

Luhan tugs at Kai’s elbow and leads him through the door. Kai isn’t exactly opposed to this. If it weren’t for the exterior of the building distracting him for just a moment, Kai would rather not spend more than a moment outside in his board-shorts, t-shirt, and well lack of his normal decent coverings. True as Luhan had said, they found something that hung in such a way that Kai’s tail became discrete beneath the fabric. And while Kai feels a bit awkward still (his ears are very much uncovered and protruding from the mop of blonde at the top of his head), once they enter and see the other visitors attire, Kai is glad for what he’s wearing.

“We can put our things in the locker room and head out to the pool,” Luhan states with excitement. His mood is infectious enough to carry Kai along with him without complaint or even a scowl. As long as Kai is being dragged through the building, he decides to take in the ambiance of the center. He reads the signs and information for everything they offer that is posted on the walls. There are several classes and sports to join as well as free swim and recreation hours. Some of it sounds intriguing, if it didn’t involve voluntarily submerging oneself into a body of water.

Luhan stashes the few things they have with them, including dry clothes for after his swim and Kai’s jeans which he promised to bring so that the hybrid could change out of the shorts should he ‘absolutely need to’. Luhan takes Kai by the hand and directs him through a navy blue hallway towards a pair of glass doors. As he pushes them open, Kai’s hearing is swamped by commotion. There are children screaming and constant splashing and his eyes hurry to take in what his hearing has already perceived. It isn’t that there are too many people, but that the noise being created echoes in the tall wide room.

“You can sit anywhere you want. I'm going in,” Luhan says while giving Kai’s hand a squeeze. Kai nods and looks around at the vacant lounge chairs. He picks one not far and sits down while watching Luhan make a quick jump into the pool.

Kai's heart races for a moment. He knows that Luhan likes to do this recreationally so the older must know how to swim, yet Kai doesn't breathe again until he can see Luhan's face above water a moment before he sets out for the opposite end of the pool. Kai isn’t so sure he would be able to rush to Luhan’s aid should the other have an issue while swimming and the thought makes him a little anxious. Kai watches Luhan make a full lap before he settles against the chair, confident in Luhan’s abilities. Instead, he takes to looking at other people nearby. There are kids of all ages in the shallow end through to the middle of the pool. Most of them are yelling and playing some game. It’s a game that Kai has no idea about nor ever heard of. There are other lap swimmers and others like him who are sitting about, probably to keep an eye on their kids.

Honestly, Kai can think of a good amount of things that are more fun than swimming about in a large pool of water. Parks are better. Dancing is better. Music is better. Video games are better. Roughhousing with Baekhyun is better. Kai crosses his arms over his chest. He assumes that the water is cold and stares at everyone he can see with a look of disgusted disbelief.

He can remember the one time he had gone to the beach. It was Baekhyun’s idea and of course Suho tagged along. Suho, the wiser of the three, stuck to combing the beach for interesting things to look at, find and photograph. Baekhyun had made a beeline for the water. Kai had followed him. It was initially fun to run up to the waves, but the icy cold against his feet and the surprise at the unpredictable level of the water found Kai sputtering. He refused to go near the water after one particularly cold wave came barreling towards him during high tide. In addition, the salty water made his hair feel coarse and not soft like it usually was. It also took a bit of time before the water got out of his ears and he didn’t feel waterlogged anymore. Why anyone would throw himself or herself into water like that was beyond him. Sure, showers are fine. They are smaller streams that don’t collect and can be as pleasantly warm as Kai wants them to be. Kai shakes his head and looks back at the water in the pool.

He watches for a long time.

He watches until boredom gets the best of him.

Kai stands out of the chair and walks to the deep end of the pool. He doesn’t want to be near all of the kids, even though some of them are running to the deep end of the pool to show off their jumping skills. It’s still quieter than the shallow end. Kai stands at the edge and looks into the water. The water is definitely blue, but he can almost make out the bottom of the pool despite the constant ripples in the water and how deep he perceives it to be. Kai stretches one foot towards the edge of the pool and extends his ankle until he can bring his toe to make contact with the water’s surface.

He is pleasantly surprised at the warmth of the water. It’s not hot, by any means, but it is comfortable. It’s just slightly above room temperature and not the shocking cold that he is expecting. Kai sinks down to sit at the edge of the pool and lets both of his ankles sink below the surface of the water. It feels nice, he marvels. Kai moves his feet back and forth, testing the waters resistance with his leg muscles. After a moment of doing so, Kai can start to see the appeal of it. At least the pool doesn't suddenly lunge at you like the waves at the beach.

As soon as the thought finishes in his mind, a force hits Kai unexpectedly just behind his right shoulder. Kai is shifted - pushed really - from his seat at the edge of the pool. Something has collided at his side and he hears someone make an ‘umph’ sound as he realizes that the surface of the water is coming closer quite suddenly. The warm water swallows Kai just after he hears a loud splash incredibly close by.

Luhan pulls himself out of the pool to give himself a breather since his muscles are already tired. He loves swimming, but it certainly can wear one down when they don't do it often enough. Luhan rolls his shoulders and stretches his arms while his feet are still dangling in the water. It's refreshing in the least. He’s not bothered one bit by the water dripping from his hair onto his shoulders and back. Luhan realizes that it is much louder above the water where the splashing can be keenly heard along with everyone's voices.

“Dad! Dad!!” A kid screams from the other side of the pool. Luhan looks up at the commotion hoping that there isn't an emergency, but the kid sounds a bit panicked and Luhan looks at him and the direction he’s pointing in.

“Dad! Did you see?! He knocked the kitty into the pool!”

Luhan is more than aware that the probability of any other hybrid being there is unlikely. He looks up to the set of chairs that Kai had occupied to find that the other isn't there. Luhan shuffles to stand up and starts to hurry around to the other side of the pool while being careful not to slip.

“I'm sure it's fine,” the dad murmurs to the distraught child. The boy doesn't look too convinced and it doesn't help when another kid emerges from the surface of the pool gasping for air. “I didn't mean to. It was an accident!” the other kid yells.

Luhan realizes that the kid is saying it to him. Luhan is standing at the edge of the pool glaring at the boy while trying to process what has just happened. He looks below him and sees movement a little below the surface. Nearly white blonde hair is catching the light while not exactly in a reflective way. His eyes widen in surprise for a second before he takes to jumping back into the pool.

Kai is floundering. He has obviously been caught off guard by being knocked into the pool. He isn't thinking straight or perhaps doesn't know how to just stay calm and float. Luhan grabs for one of his arms and pulls him up so that he can break past the surface and breathe.

Kai coughs and sputters and takes in two deep breaths before Luhan is asking him if he's okay. Kai has his arms around Luhan’s neck as the other kicks his feet under the water to keep them above surface. He moves them both to the side and grabs the wall so that he can keep them both floating without causing more fatigue to his legs. Kai grabs the side too and moves to pull himself out but doesn't account for how heavy he is with the added water in his clothing. Quickly frustrated and with no other goal, he tries again. This time Luhan adds a push below his thighs to give Kai the right leverage out of the pool.

Kai manages to get out and rolls onto his back about an arm's length away from the side of the pool. Luhan follows him out and sits at his side. “Are you alright?” he asks again.

Kai nods, even if he's still breathing a bit hard.

Luhan watches him breathe. He wants to make sure that Kai hasn’t swallowed too much water, but it seems like the younger had at least held his breath a little bit, or not frantically tried to in water while submerged. He can see the other’s breathing start to slow, becoming relieved that Kai is probably just fine.

“I really should have gotten you floaties,” Luhan jokes, trying to make Kai laugh or at least relax a bit.

Instead, Kai slaps Luhan’s arm annoyed that his boyfriend is joking when Kai has just almost drowned.

“Sorry.” Luhan frowns. Luhan only wants to bring Kai's focus away from being shoved into the water. He is sure that now, more than ever, Kai will refuse to come to the pool with him again. Luhan reaches to move some of Kai’s blonde fringe away from his eyes.

Kai closes his eyes a moment before he moves to try to sit up. Luhan draws back his hand as Kai shakes his head at the feeling of water being caught in his ears and being sopping wet when he hadn't anticipated either sensation. He moves his head back and forth trying to tilt so that he can get the water to stop feeling like it’s sloshing around in his head. As he sits there, his clothes feel colder and colder making Kai finally shudder in his spot.

“You look miserable,” Luhan observes.

“Thanks,” Kai states dryly. He knows that Luhan is sopping wet too, but it doesn't seem to affect him at all.

Luhan hates that Kai has had a bad experience while with him. Moving in closer, he lifts the other’s gaze by his chin and looks at him. Kai's eyes are still brown, showing Luhan that he isn't as shocked or miserable as he initially guessed. “Why don't we get warmed up and changed?” Luhan suggests. Kai nods and then shakes his head again to get rid of more lingering water. He can’t help but blink his eyes repeatedly at how awkward he feels.

Luhan stands first and helps to pull Kai to his feet. He places his hand against the small of Kai's back to lead him back through the glass double doors. Luhan takes Kai straight to the locker room showers and turns on the warm water. “Stay here, I'll be right back,” Luhan states. Kai is about to protest but Luhan walks away quickly.

Kai stares at the shower and reaches out to test the warmth with his hand. It's very warm, more than comfortably so. He pulls his wet shirt up and off, and steps into the spray while still wearing his shorts. The showers are portioned off, but still rather public. Kai would like to let his tail out and relax under the spray, but he just can't bring himself to do so.

Luhan returns quickly, carrying two towels and their spare clothes. He's glad to see Kai under the warm water and quickly joins him after placing their things to the side. He lets the water warm his skin before he pulls Kai into a hug. “What were you doing so close to the pool for that kid to knock you in?”

“I was curious about the water. I didn't realize the water was so warm. I thought pools were cold. I sat down on the edge and put my feet in,” Kai explains.

“Well you know what they say about cats and curiosity…” Luhan smiles.

Kai growls and pushes himself away from Luhan. He glares at his boyfriend. It isn't funny, Kai screams in his head.

“Aww, baby, don't be like that. Besides, I was there to save you. You still have nine lives.” Luhan tries to say with a straight face as if he’s being completely serious. While Kai’s glare is as equally deadly as it is y, Luhan has learned to not let it affect him, well at least too much.

“No more of the cat jokes, Lu!”

“You started it with your ‘cats and water don't mix’ thing.” Luhan says with his signature eye smile.

“You know, if it weren't for your smile and the way your eyes do that glittery thing, I'd hate you.”

“No you wouldn't. You love me. You will always love me,” Luhan states with confidence while intruding purposefully into Kai's space. Kai knows it's true. He won’t ever hate the other. Luhan may be misguided sometimes and almost too optimistic about how things will turn out, but he knows that Luhan does everything because he wants the world to meet his expectations as to how Kai should be treated. He doesn't want Kai to feel like he's less or live less of a life either, even if that includes swimming.

“I'll concede on one condition,” Kai states while staring hard at his beautifully handsome boyfriend.

“Hm?”

“Swimming is a you thing, not a we thing.”

Luhan thinks about it for a minute and nods. “Can showers still be a we thing?”

Kai blushes slightly and hides himself in the center of the shower’s spray. “I wasn’t talking about showers. And I don’t care as long as it’s in the privacy of our own home.”

“What about if we stay at a hotel or something?”

“When would we…? Yeah, okay, I suppose then too. I just mean privately.”

Luhan beams. He likes to make the hybrid blush, especially when it's due to thinking about them together. It's endearing.

Luhan reaches towards the wall and turns off the shower and grabs their towels. While there is no one really around, Luhan quickly strips off his wet swim shorts and pulls on the pair of pants he brought. He watches as Kai does the same. As soon as his boyfriend has his jeans on, Luhan offers him his shirt. “Yours is sopping wet. You’ll want this going out.”

“Won’t you be without a shirt then?”

“Yes, but I don’t care. We just have to make it to my car.”

“And then from your car up to our apartment.”

“Yeah, no problem there. Just take the shirt, Kai.”

Kai wants to argue, but the afternoon is already off to a bad start and Kai really doesn’t want to walk around without a shirt on. He takes it and pulls it on. As soon as Luhan’s scent hits him, his mood lightens a little bit. He takes the towel to his hair and tries to fluff it back to normal. He can still feel the pressure just behind his eyes from feeling waterlogged and shakes his head again.

Luhan steals the towel from Kai’s grasp and brings it back to the hybrid’s head gently. He softly ruffles Kai’s hair with the driest part of the fabric before taking to rubbing the younger’s ears with the same reverent affection. After a few moments of the attention, Kai lets a purr rumble just loud enough for Luhan to hear.

The older laughs softly. “I see I’m forgiven.”

“Maybe,” Kai murmurs. He’s half distracted by Luhan’s attention and half distracted by the older’s bare chest.

“Maybe?”

“You’re forgiven for all the dumb jokes,” Kai confirms. Despite the cold shower and the fact that he’s now fully clothed, Kai still shivers a little bit. “Can we get some coffee or something? I’m cold and something warm to drink sounds nice.”

“I don’t think they let people into coffee shops without a shirt,” Luhan points out.

“The store is along the way. I can run in and grab you something,” Kai offers with somewhat of a mischievous smile.

Luhan drops the towel to the floor and closes the distance between himself and his boyfriend. “I’ll wear whatever you pick out.”

“Anything?” Kai asks.

“I trust you,” Luhan says with a shrug. He pushes his lips against Kai’s while wrapping his arms around his waist and holding him close. Kai can feel Luhan smiling against him, but doesn’t care one single bit.

Luhan’s kisses are warmer than coffee.

Kai will run into the department store clothing section and pick out the very first cotton t-shirt he finds. He’s still getting his coffee, but he’s suddenly much more rushed to make it home later so that Luhan can continue to kiss him for the rest of the evening.

A/N -

At first, I thought this chapter would barely make the 3000 word mark, but I got it up to 5k. :D

I'm going to be focusing on my other stories for now, but I'll still update if the inspiration hits. Thanks for reading!